Tales From Another Planet

So I'm starting to think that I have a "high needs" baby. I wouldn't really call him "colicky" because he doesn't seem to be in pain, but he does get very mad at mommy and daddy for about 3 hours a day usually in the early afternoon. I think the real problem is that he has a hard time going to sleep in the daytime and wakes himself up easily because he is so active. But how do you "make" a baby go to sleep? We've tried all the methods: nursing, swinging, holding, rocking, walking, dancing, singing. The only thing that works consistently is the stroller. And once we bring him back inside, his eyes pop right back open and he's awake and soon to be screaming. Most things will work for a minute or two and then he'll be screaing again. After 3 hours or so of fun, he decides not to be upset, and he'll usually sleep for several hours. He's been sleeping on me right now for almost two hours after his latest escapade. He does sle...

So, I have an almost four week old infant sitting on my chest as we speak. I thought I was prepared, but having an infant is so much more exhausting than I thought it would be. First, there's the general recovery from 2.5 hours of pushing. I will say that labor and delivery was much less painful than I thought it would be (yay Bradley classes and naturally high pain tolerance). But 2.5 hours of pushing is essentially running a marathon. I actually found out later that a C-section is recommended after 3 hours of pushing. I'm so glad the doctors didn't tell me that. Anyway, it takes two full weeks to recover enough to feel slightly human again, and then you hit that magical period where your baby starts to get gassy and colicky. We think it was from a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance and oversupply syndrome. My milk took a little longer to come in and baby was starving. He seems much less gassy, but still cries more than he did the first two weeks. He doesn't cry at night, a...

OK. I haven't posted in a while, but after reading this article , I felt I had to. I don't see how ANYONE can support the healthcare bill as it is. Are democrats stupid are do they all just want to be on the same bandwagon? First of all, even being somewhat conservative, my biggest issue is surprisingly not the extra taxes. The $250,000 limit is a little low I think, but Obama already said he was going to raise taxes on anyone making more than that, so it's not a big surprise. My biggest issue is the fact that this bill will actually make MY healthcare WORSE and MORE EXPENSIVE. In the order of the CNN aricle: 1) Extra fees on healthcare companies, as if healthcare isn't expensive enough as it is, these fees will certainly pass along to all consumers. 2) Cut healthcare tax breaks - again making my healthcare more expensive. I already have $2,500 in out of pocket expenses from a childbirth, now I can't even use pre-tax money if I spend any more than that? 3) Long-term...

Proverbs 29:25 in the Message says "The fear of human opinion disables; trusting in God protects you from that." Luke 12:4-5 (NIV) says "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after killing the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him." I have been hearing a lot lately in my devotion and prayer life about fear. I'm not afraid of dying, but I'm also not as afraid as I should be of dying without making a difference in the world. If I continue to procrastinate and ignore God's plans for my life, I am worse than dead already. What will I tell Him when He looks at me and asks for an accounting of the life He gave me. Will He say "well done", or "I never knew you"? I fear right now that the answer would be that He knew me a little, but was saddened by my disobedience. I keep crying out for the an...

Lately I have been doing everything that makes me feel more depressed. I've been thinking negative thoughts, judging others, not doing what I feel is right. Why do we do this to ourselves? The American motto is to "do what makes you happy." But so many people are trying to live this "American dream" and falling into depression. Does it make me happy to mindlessly search the Internet for houses I can't afford or jobs that aren't the right fit for anyone? Does it make me happy to feel my eyeballs almost pop out of the socket staring mindlessly at Internet articles or computer screens? Does it make me happy to think negatively about my job and my life rather than doing something about it? I didn't write anything this morning on my novel. Despite the fact that I had an extra two hours before work. Was I tired this morning? Yes. Did it make me feel any better to lay in bed and extra 30 minutes and then laze around the apartment for an hour and a half?...

Since when has the government decided that owning businesses is legal and ethical? The White House is trying to own health care , already owns several car companies and a good portion of several banks. Why does no one in America seem to have a problem or concern with this? Talk about a conflict of interest! When the government owns something they can choose whether to pass tax laws or legislation that will hurt privately owned business and help themselves. Who is going to oversee the government? The government is already controlling whether or not banks can pay back their TARP money and buy back the government's stock. Are they basing their decision on the financial health of the banks? No, they are basing their decisions on the fact they want to "earn a profit for the American people." Sounds like a great basis for a major government decision. I don't necessarily want to go back to the way things were, but I do want to see government get out of our business. I ...

I was reading in Mark today about the parable of the sower. I've heard the story so many times I usually don't even think about it. Of course, I must be the good seed because I'm listening to the word and because I believe so strongly in God's message. As I read Jesus' description of what he meant by the parable, I realized I had been fooling myself all along. It's not that I don't believe: I am trying to grow in the thorny soil. But I am also being choked by worries and deceitful things of this world: like American consumerism. Even though I do believe, and I'm trying to grow, I am letting myself be unproductive. I need to ask the Gardener to come by and rip some of those thorns out of my life, despite how painful it might be. I know the things that I ought to do, but I let myself get distracted by my problems, which sometimes seem too big for my tiny seedling status. If I want to grow and mature and be productive in my faith, I have to get rid of t...